The Scripps National Spelling Bee wraps up on ESPN today. In 2013 and 2014, the contest ended in a tie, leading to a number of rule changes for 2016 to make the contest harder.
"As difficult as those words offered those co-champions were, we had a more difficult section in our word list, but we couldn't go to them because our rules bound us to stick to that 25-word championship word section," Paige Kimble, the bee's executive director, told The Associated Press.
To make up for the difficulty, the prizes have also jumped, with first place $40,000, up from $30,000. Second place will get $30,000 and third gets $20,000.
The definitions and word origins below are from the Merriam Webster Unabridged online dictionary. Most of them are available only to subscribers. Webster's Third New International Dictionary is the final authority at the spelling bee.
Here are the winning words and definitions from the past 10 years.
2006
Winning Word: Ursprache
noun \u()rshprk\
a parent language; especially : one reconstructed from the evidence of later languages
Origin: German, from ur- primitive, original (from Old High German ur-, ur out of) + sprache language, from Old High German sprhha speech more at abear, speech
Winner: Kerry Close, Asbury Park, New Jersey
2007
Winning Word: serrefine
noun \serfn, ()serf-\
1: a small forceps for clamping a blood vessel
Origin: French serre-fine, literally, fine clamp, from serre grip, clamp + fine, feminine of fin fine, from Old French more at sear (catch of a gunlock), fine
Winner: Evan M. O'Dorney, Walnut Creek, California
2008
Winning Word: guerdon
noun \grdn\
1: something that one has earned or gained : reward, recompense, requital
Origin: Middle English, from Middle French guerdon, guerredon, from Old French, modification (influenced by Latin donum gift) of Old High German widarln, from widar again, against + ln reward
Winner: Sameer Mishra, Lafayette, Indiana
2009
Winning Word: Laodicean
adjective \()l--d-s-n, l--\
1: of or relating to ancient Laodicea, a city of Asia Minor and site of an early Christian church
2: lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics
Origin: Laodicea, ancient city is Asia Minor (from Latin, from Greek Laodikeia) + English -an
Winner: Kavya Shivashankar, Olathe, Kansas
2010
Winning Word: stromuhr
noun \strmu()r\
1: a rheometer designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery
Origin: German, literally, stream clock, from strom stream (from Old High German strm) + uhr hour, clock, from Middle High German ur hour, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch ure, from Old French more at stream, hour
Winner: Anamika Veeramani, Cleveland, Ohio
2011
Winning Word: cymotrichous
adjective \()smtrks\
1: having the hair wavy < a cymotrichous race>
cymotrichy \-k\ noun, plural -es
Origin: cym- + -trichous
Winner: Sukanya Roy, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
2012
Winning Word: guetapens
noun \getp\
1: ambush, snare, trap < a trick to lure him into some guetapens Rafael Sabatini>
Origin: French guet-apens, from Middle French, from de guet apens with premeditation, alteration of de guet apens
Winner: Snigdha Nandipati, San Diego, California
2013
Winning Word: knaidel
noun \kndl, kn-\
plural knaidlach \-dlk\
1: matzo ball
Origin: Yiddish kneydel, from Middle High German kndel
Winner: Arvind Mahankali, New York, New York
2014
Winning Word 1: feuilleton,
noun \fryt, fy-, fy-, F fyt\
1: a part of a European newspaper or magazine devoted to material designed to entertain the general reader : a feature section
2: a writing printed in a feuilleton (as an installment of a serialized novel)
3a : a novel printed in installments : serial
3b : a work of fiction catering to popular taste
4: a short literary composition often having a familiar tone and reminiscent content: sketch < these feuilletons are self-analytical studies and personal confessions, memories, scenes of animal life, symbolic stories dealing with personal and national problems Izidor Cankar>
Winner: Ansun Sujoe, Fort Worth, Texas
Winning Word 2: stichomythia
noun \stikmith\ also stichomythy \stkmth\
plural stichomythias also stichomythies
1: dialogue especially of altercation or dispute delivered in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama)
Origin: Greek stichomythia, from stichomythein to speak dialogue in alternate lines, from stichos row, line, verse + mythos tale, speech, myth more at myth
Winner: Sriram Hathwar, Corning, New York
2015
Word 1: scherenschnitte
noun \shrnshnit\
1: the art of cutting paper into decorative designs
Origin: German, plural of scherenschnitt, literally, scissors cut, from scheren, plural of schere scissors (from Middle High German schre, plural, from Old High German skr) + schnitt cut, from Middle High German snit, from Old High German; akin to Old English snid cut, from the Germanic root of snthan to cut.
Winner: Vanya Shivashankar, Olathe, Kansas
Word 2: nunatak
noun \nntak\
1: a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice
Origin:Eskimo
Winner: Gokul Venkatachalam
"As difficult as those words offered those co-champions were, we had a more difficult section in our word list, but we couldn't go to them because our rules bound us to stick to that 25-word championship word section," Paige Kimble, the bee's executive director, told The Associated Press.
To make up for the difficulty, the prizes have also jumped, with first place $40,000, up from $30,000. Second place will get $30,000 and third gets $20,000.
The definitions and word origins below are from the Merriam Webster Unabridged online dictionary. Most of them are available only to subscribers. Webster's Third New International Dictionary is the final authority at the spelling bee.
Here are the winning words and definitions from the past 10 years.
2006
Winning Word: Ursprache
noun \u()rshprk\
a parent language; especially : one reconstructed from the evidence of later languages
Origin: German, from ur- primitive, original (from Old High German ur-, ur out of) + sprache language, from Old High German sprhha speech more at abear, speech
Winner: Kerry Close, Asbury Park, New Jersey
2007
Winning Word: serrefine
noun \serfn, ()serf-\
1: a small forceps for clamping a blood vessel
Origin: French serre-fine, literally, fine clamp, from serre grip, clamp + fine, feminine of fin fine, from Old French more at sear (catch of a gunlock), fine
Winner: Evan M. O'Dorney, Walnut Creek, California
2008
Winning Word: guerdon
noun \grdn\
1: something that one has earned or gained : reward, recompense, requital
Origin: Middle English, from Middle French guerdon, guerredon, from Old French, modification (influenced by Latin donum gift) of Old High German widarln, from widar again, against + ln reward
Winner: Sameer Mishra, Lafayette, Indiana
2009
Winning Word: Laodicean
adjective \()l--d-s-n, l--\
1: of or relating to ancient Laodicea, a city of Asia Minor and site of an early Christian church
2: lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics
Origin: Laodicea, ancient city is Asia Minor (from Latin, from Greek Laodikeia) + English -an
Winner: Kavya Shivashankar, Olathe, Kansas
2010
Winning Word: stromuhr
noun \strmu()r\
1: a rheometer designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery
Origin: German, literally, stream clock, from strom stream (from Old High German strm) + uhr hour, clock, from Middle High German ur hour, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch ure, from Old French more at stream, hour
Winner: Anamika Veeramani, Cleveland, Ohio
2011
Winning Word: cymotrichous
adjective \()smtrks\
1: having the hair wavy < a cymotrichous race>
cymotrichy \-k\ noun, plural -es
Origin: cym- + -trichous
Winner: Sukanya Roy, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
2012
Winning Word: guetapens
noun \getp\
1: ambush, snare, trap < a trick to lure him into some guetapens Rafael Sabatini>
Origin: French guet-apens, from Middle French, from de guet apens with premeditation, alteration of de guet apens
Winner: Snigdha Nandipati, San Diego, California
2013
Winning Word: knaidel
noun \kndl, kn-\
plural knaidlach \-dlk\
1: matzo ball
Origin: Yiddish kneydel, from Middle High German kndel
Winner: Arvind Mahankali, New York, New York
2014
Winning Word 1: feuilleton,
noun \fryt, fy-, fy-, F fyt\
1: a part of a European newspaper or magazine devoted to material designed to entertain the general reader : a feature section
2: a writing printed in a feuilleton (as an installment of a serialized novel)
3a : a novel printed in installments : serial
3b : a work of fiction catering to popular taste
4: a short literary composition often having a familiar tone and reminiscent content: sketch < these feuilletons are self-analytical studies and personal confessions, memories, scenes of animal life, symbolic stories dealing with personal and national problems Izidor Cankar>
Winner: Ansun Sujoe, Fort Worth, Texas
Winning Word 2: stichomythia
noun \stikmith\ also stichomythy \stkmth\
plural stichomythias also stichomythies
1: dialogue especially of altercation or dispute delivered in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama)
Origin: Greek stichomythia, from stichomythein to speak dialogue in alternate lines, from stichos row, line, verse + mythos tale, speech, myth more at myth
Winner: Sriram Hathwar, Corning, New York
2015
Word 1: scherenschnitte
noun \shrnshnit\
1: the art of cutting paper into decorative designs
Origin: German, plural of scherenschnitt, literally, scissors cut, from scheren, plural of schere scissors (from Middle High German schre, plural, from Old High German skr) + schnitt cut, from Middle High German snit, from Old High German; akin to Old English snid cut, from the Germanic root of snthan to cut.
Winner: Vanya Shivashankar, Olathe, Kansas
Word 2: nunatak
noun \nntak\
1: a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice
Origin:Eskimo
Winner: Gokul Venkatachalam